


seeing double

by fade_to_silver



Category: Inazuma Eleven, Inazuma Eleven: Orion no Kokuin
Genre: Ootani and Anna are sort of here, Red Bison too, Sakuma is there for part of it, grumpy Haizaki exists briefly, poor Kazemaru why is it always him, the Teikoku team is here too
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:01:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23541250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fade_to_silver/pseuds/fade_to_silver
Summary: He stared at this team that was both his and not his, and he swallowed his rising panic.or, in which Kazemaru realizes that he has two sets of memories of the same events.(I may or may not have just realized that I wrote the entire thing in past tense when I was fully planning to write in present, hence the reworking and slight editing)
Comments: 36
Kudos: 62





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> two (many) memories

Kazemaru first notices something was wrong when Kidou informs him that he is to be the reinforcement committee member for Teikoku Gakuen. It’s a confusing decision - why would  _ he  _ be chosen for Teikoku, when Kidou was the obvious choice? - but that’s not quite it. He has the distinct, uncomfortable sensation that something is very, very wrong, that it shouldn’t have happened like this. Something else should have happened today, but it didn’t. A glance at his friends, troubled expressions on their faces, at Endou - briefly, an image flashes in his head of Endou’s face, twisted in a horrible expression of fear and shock, and then it vanishes, and Endou smiles widely, his grin bright as ever. The goalkeeper’s gaze sweeps the circle, coming to rest on Kazemaru, his grin replaced with a look of slight confusion.

“Kazemaru looks like he’s seen a ghost,” Kidou observes calmly as he comes back from retrieving his water bottle. “Did something happen?”

Kazemaru shakes his head, quickly avoiding Kidou’s piercing stare by intently watching the school building, and then, just as before, another image replaces the imposing building - a twisted mess of rubble. The Raimon lightning bolt on the front of the school is the only object left intact, covered in dust under a darkened sky. In a second, the image vanishes, and Kazemaru stares at the undamaged building.

“Kazemaru? Kazemaru!” Endou waves a hand in front of Kazemaru’s face. “Are you listening? I said we should probably start preparing to leave for our schools.”

“S-sorry, Endou…”

When he arrives at Teikoku, when he meets the all-too-stiff team, another image overlays his vision. A lineup of the team right in front of him, a purple glow radiating from under their shirts, their eyes gleaming with that same unnatural purple. Kazemaru watches Sakuma warily, the forced smile on the captain’s face replaced by a wide, insane grin, his hair lengthening and straightening into spikes. A gap appears in his eye patch, revealing a glowing copper iris surrounded by a black sclera. With every blink, the image switches; Teikoku seems normal one second, albeit a bit awkward and unfamiliar, and then they wear maniacal grins, staring with empty eyes, and this image is so horrifyingly familiar, almost too familiar, as if he’s seen it before but can’t place it, and he nods slightly, only distantly hearing Sakuma speaking. 

“Hey, Kazemaru.” A voice drifts from behind him, and Kazemaru whips around to find goggles staring back at him. Kidou again. “There’s no need to look so terrified.”

“Kidou!” Sakuma’s smile shifts into one of slight relief, but Kazemaru is too distracted by the unnerving grin he sees instead. “Have you come to visit?”

“I was just checking in on Kazemaru. Maybe I’ll play a bit of soccer.”

Alone in his room, Kazemaru runs a hand through his hair, and sighs slightly.

_ Am I going insane…? _

Movement at the edge of his vision catches his attention, and he turns to see it. The mirror? Something flickers over his reflection, he jumps backward, covering his eyes with both hands, this can’t be happening. This  _ cannot  _ be happening. His reflection grins back at him, his pupils shrinking so much his eyes look almost like a cat’s, swathed in a sweeping black cloak, and his hair floats loose in waves just above his shoulders. A glowing, purple crystal hangs from a chain around his neck. The image is all too recognizable, but this never happened… had it? He would have known if he had looked like this. These are not his memories, where are they coming from? Destroyed Raimon, possessed Teikoku, horrified Endou - he’s never seen these before in his life, and yet they tug at his thoughts, like a name caught on the tip of his tongue.

Kazemaru glances at his reflection again, and the image is gone. He stands there alone, in Teikoku’s colors, meeting his own fearful gaze in the mirror. 

When he meets Fubuki Shirou, at the choosing ceremony, when their eyes find each other, something is familiar-yet-unfamiliar about him.

“H-have we met before?” Kazemaru searches his memory, but can only recall seeing him from afar as Hakuren played Raimon. He blinks once, and Fubuki suddenly is wearing the fluffy white scarf that his brother (Atsuya, was it?) always wears, his slight smile is a wide, wild grin, his eyes flare with glowing gold. Kazemaru flinches, rubbing his eyes, and dares to look again. Still Fubuki Shirou, the same as always, giving him a concerned look from gray eyes.

“No. I don’t think so. I’m Fubuki Shirou, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise. I’m Kazemaru Ichirouta.” Kazemaru holds out an unsteady hand to Fubuki, whose eyes are flipping colors now - gold, gray, gold, gray. The faint ghost of a white fleece scarf hovers around his neck. 

“Kazemaru-san, why do you look so worried?”

“I-it’s nothing, I’m just a little nervous, I guess.” But he remembers events that have never happened the more he stares at Fubuki - how Raimon had played Hakuren, trying to recruit Fubuki  _ (this was all wrong, they hadn’t, how could they?) _ , snowboarding behind the school as Fubuki watched silently  _ (they hadn’t ever visited Hakuren, why?) _ , so many times they’d spoken and laughed and played together  _ (he’d never met Fubuki before this) _ \- it’s all false - they don’t even know each other - they’ve never played each other, let alone played together - until his thoughts are such a mess that he can’t tell truth from fake anymore, and yet the only questions that come up - why is this happening? Whose memories are these?

The first time they assemble as Inazuma Japan, in the training facilities, Kazemaru watchea the entirety of his new team, feeling a growing sense of unease. He doesn’t belong here, there’s another team waiting for him if only he can figure out who and where they are, he stares around at this entirely new team surrounding him and it’s both his and not his, there’s a growing feeling of  _ wrong _ ness in him, it’s the wrong team, and he struggles against his rising panic. His eye catches on a flash of bright blue amidst the midnight hues of their soccer uniform, and it’s Gouenji in a sky blue and white uniform. Blink, and he’s wearing the same uniform as all the others again. The voices of his teammates surround him, familiar-yet-unfamiliar, of course because he hasn’t known his new teammates long enough yet, but it’s also something else, these voices are the wrong voices, some of them are not supposed to be here and others are missing. The sound grates on his ears, intensifying a headache beginning to form, and he huddles forward on the bench, pressing his hands over his ears and closing his eyes, he tries to block it all out because it hurts, like a phantom pain. Behind his shut eyelids are hissatsus that he’s never seen and matches he’s never played in, and a few times, a fleeting image of a team in a sky blue uniform.

“Hey, are you okay? Oh, geez…” Someone’s talking to him. He’s not quite familiar enough with their voice to identify them yet -  _ of course he’s not, this person isn’t his teammate _ (they are! He thinks it’s Mansaku, and when he hears someone refer to the voice as Mansaku-kun, he knows it is). 

“Kazemaru?” That is most definitely Endou’s voice. He looks up. His friend seems concerned, but his sunny smile breaks out again when he sees Kazemaru looking back up at him. For a second, everything is normal, until Endou’s form blurs and doubles. Two Endous, identical smiles. Kazemaru hunches over his knees again, pain pulsing at his temples. Movement around him.

“Leave him alone, minna.” Kidou’s voice.

Somebody sits down next to him. He glances sideways at the unexpected warmth. Gouenji. Kazemaru double-checks the uniform, and relaxes slightly when he sees it’s the same one they all wear, dark blue with bright strips of red capping the sleeves. On his other side… Haizaki, staring off to the side grumpily, as if forced to stay there. Kazemaru peeks at him again. But then suddenly the silver-haired forward becomes Sakuma, his uniform sky-blue again, and Kazemaru jolts backward, nearly knocking Gouenji off the bench. Gouenji catches him around the shoulders to avoid falling, his yelp calling the attention of Haizaki.

“Whoa, Kazemaru, what happened?” 

Sakuma is gone just as quickly. Haizaki’s visible eye narrows. Kazemaru presses his face into his hands, trying to ignore the pain in his head. “Sorry. I just need a minute.”

He doesn’t see the shocked gazes of the others, or hear Endou telling them to get back to practice. 

When he practices Spinning Fence, alone, privately, something’s different. A shift in the tornadoes he creates, a shift in the wind speed, faster than ever before - then, once, the tornadoes merge, with a fiercer wind than he’s ever managed, and instead of “Spinning Fence,” he finds the words “Fuujin no Mai” on his lips. 

And the technique roars, stronger than Spinning Fence has ever been.

During their first match, when Kazemaru uses “Fuujin no Mai” instead of “Spinning Fence,” he can practically feel Endou’s shocked gaze burning into his back. He’s told Endou about Spinning Fence. He hasn’t told him that it’s changed.

He doesn’t dare look at the Korea team, because the second he met the captain’s gaze, when they were lined up on the field, the team flickered and changed, their shirts flashing bright red. The players had changed, he’d recognized two players from Eisei Gakuen, and a familiar shimmer of golden hair. Aphrodi? But then they were gone, and Kazemaru was so dazed that he completely missed the start of the match. 

“Kazemaru!” Endou shouts, and Kazemaru realizes that the shot is headed directly towards his head.

Being roommates with Tatsuya is incredibly stressful. Any time he so much as catches a glimpse of his roommate, images flood his memory - at first, they’d been of him as an enemy, his hair spiked straight up, but then those memories had blended with snapshots of them playing together  _ in that cursed bright blue uniform, he keeps seeing it  _ **_everywhere,_ ** _ it only reminds him of how many “memories” he has,  _ and he would’ve gone insane long ago if not for the nightly escapes he makes by taking walks outside until it’s far too late for anyone to be up, until nobody is on the sidewalk to trigger another overwhelming set of memories and his thoughts are his own again. Tatsuya’s always asleep when he finally steps back into his room, and then Kazemaru can avoid looking at him. 

Until one day, Tatsuya is sitting up with the lights on, waiting for him when he comes back. Kazemaru tightens his ponytail nervously, avoiding eye contact. The elastic band snaps, and he yelps, more from surprise and anxiety than pain.

“That’s the first time I’ve seen you with your hair down,” Tatsuya remarks pointedly, and just hearing his voice… Kazemaru resists the urge to press his hands against his ears and curl up in a tight, pitiful ball on the ground.

“Oh?” Kazemaru tries to force a smile, carefully examining the ground. Based on Tatsuya’s face, he needs to work on faking emotions. “Wh-why did you wait up?” 

“Look. We have to talk about your sleeping schedule.” Tatsuya goes straight to the point. “You definitely have to get more sleep.”

Kazemaru whips his head up in surprise, and Tatsuya holds his gaze, trapping it in his own. Neither can seem to look away. 

“T-Tatsuya, what are you talking about?” 

“Kazemaru, what time is it?”

“I d-don’t have a watch...”

“It’s about three o’ clock. You always come in around this time. You stay out for hours. It’s way, way too late. Do you remember what happened at practice?”

“I-”

“Kazemaru, you fell asleep. In the middle of practice. On the field. I passed to you and you promptly collapsed.”

“S-sorry…I’ll try to get in earlier…” That’s not right. He hadn’t fallen asleep, had he? The afternoon had been a blur. He might have. He must be far more tired than Tatsuya thinks he is - he can’t think straight. He can’t process anything right now. He can’t seem to focus, and Tatsuya seems to know it, because he guides Kazemaru straight into the bed

Kazemaru can tell that Tatsuya’s frustrated with him whenever he goes in at 2:30, just to satisfy him by coming in earlier, but those are not the worst of his problems just then. He went out walking for a few hours by habit, lost in thought, and only realizes that it’s raining  _ hard  _ when Hiura runs out of the building and Asuto immediately runs after him, the two shrieking with laughter and running through puddles. Hiura crashes into him, and then Kazemaru also realizes he’s shaking with the cold, and his hair is plastered to his back, soaking wet.

“Sorry, Kazemaru-san!” Hiura blinks in surprise as he realizes that he’s crashed into a wet, cold, and quite distracted Kazemaru. “Eh… were you out here this entire time? It’s really late… you’ve been out for a long time... ”

Someone grabs his arm from behind, making him jump, and Asuto’s face reads,  _ Oh shit.  _ Kazemaru knows it’s Tatsuya before he turns around. Tatsuya’s hand is only faintly warm on his numbed skin. 

“You’re right, it’s getting really late,” Tatsuya says cheerfully, giving Kazemaru the stare of death. “That’s why  _ Kazemaru’s going inside with me now, so he can sleep for once. _ You guys, don’t stay up much later either.” 

“Hiura, it’s cold,” Asuto complains. “Can we go back in?”

Tatsuya and Kazemaru stand in silence as the two friends dart back inside, and only then does Tatsuya’s face soften slightly, and he leads Kazemaru back in.

“I-I’m not that cold,” Kazemaru protests as Tatsuya smothers him in blankets.

“It’s kind of hard to believe that when you’re shivering so hard the bed is shaking,” Tatsuya points out dryly.

“My hair is wet.”

“Of course it is. You just went walking in the rain for hours.”

“Th-that’s enough blankets!”

“After a chill like that, dry clothes and hair are barely going to help.”

“Just let me suffer and be cold,” Kazemaru complains. “Overheating also exists.”

“I’m doing this so you can’t escape and go back outside.”

Kazemaru presses his lips together. “Why did nobody tell me about this side of you?”

Tatsuya chooses to ignore that comment. “We should both go to bed. It can’t even be called late anymore, welcome to the early morning.”

“H-how did it-”

“It was three when I dragged you back inside.  _ Go to bed. _ ”

“But-”

“ _ Go to bed.” _

“I-”

_ “Kazemaru if I have to repeat myself one more time-” _

When their alarm rings a few hours later, the loud noises feel like physical pain, pounding around inside Kazemaru’s head until he feels like it’ll explode. Kazemaru presses his hands to his ears and curls up on his side, trying to think past a splitting headache, cheeks flushed and breathing uneven. Tatsuya sees everything as he shakes Kazemaru, who manages to mumble something out but trails off mid-sentence, and falls silent. 

Where his skin had been ice-cold before, it’s now far too warm. Tatsuya touches Kazemaru’s forehead, trying not to bother him too much. Kazemaru curls up into a tighter ball again, shivering uncontrollably as Tatsuya lets him go and hurries out of the room to look for fever medication.

He passes Asuto and Hiura in the hallway. The latter looks unwell, the rhythm of his steps slightly uneven as he holds Asuto’s arm tightly, his skin paler than normal. Asuto seems to be supporting him more than he’s supporting himself. Tatsuya runs down the stairs until a loud thud and a yelp from Asuto prompt him to look back.

Hiura’s collapsed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "who's the stranger here?"  
> revelations are made, also known as Kazemaru losing his shit part 2

“Hiura!” Asuto’s shout reaches Ootani, who begins taking the stairs three at a time when she hears it, only to find a half-conscious Hiura, a worried Asuto, and a stressed Tatsuya. 

“What happened?”

“Hiura had a fever when he woke up,” Asuto explains. “He insisted on getting up anyways, so I stuck next to him in case he needed help.”

“Kazemaru has a fever too. He couldn’t even get up today. Something might be going around.”

“I-I’ll get fever meds for both of them,” Ootani stammers, and runs back downstairs, completely forgetting why she’d come up in the first place, while Tatsuya helps Asuto carry Hiura back to his room.

“I can walk,” Hiura protests faintly, reminding Tatsuya of Kazemaru.

“Can you now.” Tatsuya raises an eyebrow. “Then what was that just now?”

Hiura looks away from him, pouting. They pass Tatsuya’s open door, and Tatsuya glances at it, wondering if it would be okay to leave them and check on Kazemaru.

“Hey, Asuto, do you mind-”

“Go check on him! I can handle Hiura.” Asuto flashes a sunny smile.

“O-okay…” Tatsuya absently wonders how Asuto could read him so easily, but drops the thought a second later when he steps into his room.

Still a fever. Tatsuya sits down on his own bed across the room, idly watching Kazemaru.

“Hiroto…?” Kazemaru’s voice snaps him out of his thoughts. The other stares at him with dazed eyes. Tatsuya looks away first. 

“...I’m not Hiroto. He’s probably downstairs by now.”

A faint frown crosses Kazemaru’s face. “You’re… Hiroto…”

“I’m Tatsuya.”

“No… you’re Hiroto…”

Tatsuya gives up. Arguing with a feverish and absurdly stubborn Kazemaru is not a fun way to pass the day.

Somebody knocks, and Tatsuya calls, “Come in.” Anna peeks inside.

“I brought some food for you two, and medicine. Ootani told me you needed it.”

Kazemaru watches her carefully. As Anna hands the tray to Tatsuya, he dares to ask, “Who are you?”

If Anna had still been holding the tray, she would’ve dropped it. “I-I’m still Mikado Anna, Kazemaru-san…” When Kazemaru shows no signs of recognition, her shoulders slump. “I’m one of the managers…”

“One of the managers...” Kazemaru blinks, and frowns again, trying to remember. “What about… Fuyuka? What happened to her…? Natsumi?”

Poor Anna looks hopelessly confused.

“You should rest, Kazemaru, I think that’s the fever talking,” Tatsuya says briskly as Anna quietly escapes. 

“What…? Hiroto, she’s not a manager…”

“Anna is definitely a manager,” Tatsuya promises.

Kazemaru stares at him suspiciously. 

“She’s a manager,” Tatsuya repeats, slightly exasperated. Kazemaru narrows his eyes, and Tatsuya narrows them back. Another brief staring contest occurs, before Kazemaru huffs and rolls over, going back to sleep. 

And only then does Tatsuya realize he’s forgotten to make Kazemaru take the fever medicine Anna had delivered.

Ten minutes and an extremely grumpy, uncooperative Kazemaru later, Endou arrives to rescue him. 

“You should take a break. You realize you’ve been in here all morning.”

“But I-”

“If you end up getting sick too, that’s no good.” Endou kicks him out before he can protest that argument, and Tatsuya obediently stays out of the room, glancing over his shoulder once before heading down the hall to Hiura’s room. 

Being sick makes Hiura milder and quieter, preferring to read or talk with Asuto and Mansaku instead of sleeping. Kazemaru, on the other hand, is  _ very  _ unhappy about being trapped in bed and, when he has energy, very vocal about his displeasure, but for the most part, he seems too tired to snap at Tatsuya, despite having a strange insistence on calling him “Hiroto,” even after his fever finally begins to abate. 

What’s most worrying, perhaps, is that Kazemaru doesn’t seem to recognize several members of Inazuma Japan. Case in point: when Kidou comes to visit a few days later, Haizaki trailing him, Kazemaru takes one look at Haizaki and tilts his head. “Kidou, who is that?”

“Who, Haizaki?“

Kazemaru looks puzzled. “Which school is he from...?”

Haizaki’s face shows surprise for a second. Kidou, however, maintains a perfect poker face. Tatsuya is willing to bet that it won’t change this entire conversation, as insane as he can already tell it’s going to be. “Kazemaru, you already know Haizaki.”

“No, I don’t.”

“You definitely met each other while you were playing for Teikoku, because Teikoku played Seishou Gakuen, and Haizaki is also on Inazuma Japan.”

“...I played for Teikoku…?” Kazemaru looks at Tatsuya uncertainly, who is nodding, trying to confirm it. “When did this happen…?”

“Wait-” Haizaki bursts out, and his fists are clenched. Kazemaru stares at him uneasily as Haizaki leans forward. “Are you seriously telling us you don’t remember this?”

“You played for Teikoku from when Raimon won the Football Frontier and was broken up to become a reinforcement committee up until just before Inazuma Japan was formed,” Kidou replies evenly.

“That’s… not right…” Kazemaru pales, looking more confused than ever. “Raimon wasn’t disbanded, I left, before Inazuma Japan, I played for Dark Emperors…” He winces at the name, and just the words on his lips trigger a deluge of memories. He lets out a slow breath and a tiny voice in his head whispers,  _ You betrayed them-  _ but another part of him hisses that it can’t be real - and he can’t decide which to listen to. Neither? “Wh… where’s Sakuma? He’ll confirm that I didn’t play for Teikoku…”

Tatsuya shares a glance with Kidou, and both can tell that neither knows what Kazemaru’s talking about at all. “Sakuma’s back at Teikoku, like always.”

“Wait, no… Sakuma’s part of Inazuma Japan… isn’t he?” Kazemaru searches their faces for confirmation. “Isn’t he?”

“Sakuma was a candidate, but he wasn’t chosen.”

“When did H… Haizaki get chosen for Inazuma Japan…?”

“At the same time as you.” Kidou’s frown is barely perceptible. “Kazemaru, you really don’t remember?”

Kazemaru hunches over, averting his gaze. “This is all wrong…”


	3. Chapter 3

“Kazemaru.” Kidou is as calm as ever. “Which members of Inazuma Japan do you remember?”

“E-Endou… Gouenji… you… Sakuma, Someoka… Tsunami…” Kazemaru trails off, as if trying to remember, curling and uncurling his fingers. “There’s more… I know there’s more, I can’t remember!” He stares at his fists in frustration.

Haizaki storms out of the room, muttering under his breath. Kazemaru looks shaken, and Tatsuya moves as if to go after him, but a hand on his shoulder stops him.

“He’ll be fine. It’s just a little hard to accept the fact that Kazemaru doesn’t recognize him. Even if he doesn’t admit it, he looks up to the Raimon team. He was quite excited to be chosen to play with us.” Kidou crosses his arms and leans against the wall. “But we do have more pressing issues. Kazemaru, you really don’t remember Haizaki?”

Kazemaru brings his hands to his temples, raking his fingers through his loose hair. “No, I don’t! I keep telling you!” A headache flares as his frustrated shout hangs in the air between them, and he immediately regrets snapping at his friends like that.

Tatsuya’s voice refuses to work. He looks to Kidou for help, but Kidou has somehow managed to sneak out into the hall already, speaking to someone - Hiura, by the voice.

“Hiura-kun, it’s good to see you doing better.” 

“It’s nice to be out of bed after a few days stuck into it.” Hiura sounds happy. “I finally convinced Mansaku to open a window after my fever went down enough.”

“Hiroto, who is that?” Kazemaru turns to Tatsuya.

“Ah, is Kazemaru-san up too? Tatsuya told me his sickness was going away.” Hiura pushes open the door before Kidou could stop him, smiling at Kazemaru. "Hey, Kazemaru-san! It's nice to hear that you're feeling better!"

"Uuh, who are you?" Kazemaru stares at him blankly. “Where did you…”

Hiura’s eyes widen. "I”m… I’m...” His smile fades when Kazemaru looks to Tatsuya. 

“Hiura Kirina.” Tatsuya quickly steps in before this conversation can turn into the total trainwreck that it had been before. Kazemaru’s staring at Hiura - and then, Tatsuya realizes his gaze is empty.

“Kazemaru? Hey, Kazemaru.” Tatsuya shakes him. “Kazemaru. Snap out of it, Kazemaru.”

Hiura blinks at him, waving a hand in front of his face. “Is Kazemaru even breathing?”

“Probably.” Tatsuya grabs him by the shoulders and shakes him again, harder. There’s no resistance whatsoever from Kazemaru, who would normally frown and avoid physical contact. “Hey. Kazemaru. I didn’t think it was possible for you to fall asleep with your eyes open.”

“Gah!” Kazemaru’s eyes clear, suddenly, and he jumps, pushing Tatsuya backwards with surprising strength. 

Kidou pushes open the door when he hears the crash. “Is everything-”

“It’s fine! It’s fine!” It’s not. Kazemaru is tangled in the blankets and sheets, effectively immobilizing him, and sprawled on the ground, having fallen off of the bed. Tatsuya had crashed into Hiura, ending up in a tangled heap. Hiura has apparently hit his head on something, because he looks as if he’s about to cry. Kazemaru just seems resigned.

“I leave you alone for five minutes,” Kidou mutters.

“How did this even happen?” Both Tatsuya and Kazemaru are working at the mess of cloth and blankets.

“I told you you shouldn’t have given me so many blankets.” Kazemaru crosses his arms and looks away from the cloth for a second to frown at him.

“How was I supposed to know this would happen?”

“How was I supposed to organize yards of comforters?”

Tatsuya frowns at Kazemaru this time. “How come nobody told  _ me  _ you were this sassy? I thought attitude was disapproved upon at Teikoku.”

“Don’t ask  _ me. _ ” But Kazemaru’s voice goes flat at the mention of his school. 

The door opens. “I’ve informed Coach and the team of your apparent memory loss. Coach said we should wait a few days, until we’re sure that Kazemaru is recovered.” That’s unmistakably Kidou’s.

“Ah.” Tatsuya can’t find anything else to say.

“Do you mind if I take Kazemaru down to the team for a little while? I’d like to see how much he remembers.”

Kazemaru glances sideways at Tatsuya. “Is it okay if I finish with these blankets first?”

“There’s time.” Tatsuya hears Kidou lean against the doorframe.

“Thanks. You didn’t have to.”

He feels Kazemaru shrug, and smiles to himself. It seems like Kazemaru is back to normal. “It’s not that big a deal.”

Someone else enters, and Kazemaru stiffens next to him. Judging by that reaction… Tatsuya recognizes the footsteps. Fudou. Without asking, he sits on Kazemaru’s bed, crossing his arms. Kazemaru gives Fudou his usual serious look, and Fudou glowers back. Tatsuya glances back and forth between them.

“Did you two have a fight or something?”

“No, this is what it’s like at Teikoku,” Kidou says from the door. Kazemaru continues untangling blankets, ignoring Fudou, who glares at the opposite wall. Tatsuya pulls the last knot loose, aware of the heavy silence in the room. 

“Kidou, you wanted me to see something?” Kazemaru stands and only looks slightly shaky this time. Good. Progress. Fudou looks unhappier than ever, but Kidou simply starts walking.

When he sees Kazemaru’s reaction upon seeing the entire team, Tatsuya feels all of his stress come rushing back. The defender is frozen like a deer in headlights, a quivering smile on his face, and there is almost no recognition on his face when the team gathers around him. He glances at Tatsuya, his face increasingly panicked.

“Let’s not overwhelm Kazemaru right away.” Kidou’s voice rings out clearly, and Kazemaru escapes to Tatsuya. Tatsuya watches the team dissipate, and then he turns to Kazemaru with a friendly smile. “Hey. Do you want to get some food?”

Kazemaru stares at the air. Tatsuya waves a hand in front of his face. “Kazemaru? Geez, not again…” And yet Kazemaru still doesn’t blink. Tatsuya gently pushes him, preparing to catch him if necessary, but Kazemaru quickly regains his balance, his body moving on autopilot.

“Ka - ze - ma - ru.” With every syllable, Tatsuya shakes Kazemaru, and Kidou begins to notice that something is off. He gives Tatsuya a quizzical look.

“I don’t know. He just spaced out or something, I guess.” Tatsuya sighs. Kidou snaps his fingers in front of Kazemaru’s face, and then Kazemaru jumps, his gaze focusing all at once, and he sucks in a rapid breath.

“Kidou! H-Hiroto!” 

Hiroto looks over. Tatsuya shakes his head, mouthing that it was a mistake, and apparently Hiroto understands, because he resumes his conversation with Hiura and Haizaki, both of whom look rather upset upon noticing Kazemaru.

Tatsuya looks back to find Kazemaru staring at him, and for a split second, he’s afraid that Kazemaru’s forgotten him - but that can’t be. Kazemaru knew him just a second ago. Kazemaru’s face is slightly panicked the longer he stares at Tatsuya, and Tatsuya tilts his head, wondering what in the world is going on. 

“Hey, Kazemaru, are you…” Kazemaru flinches, and briefly, Tatsuya is terrified that his irrational fear might actually come true. 

“Gran, Hiroto, Tatsuya…” And Kazemaru clutches at his temples, wincing at a spike of pain. “You can’t have used all three names, but why do I...”

Tatsuya immediately notices that Kazemaru mentions his actual name. There’s no way that Kidou didn’t notice, as well. “Kazemaru.” The defender cringes when Kidou begins to speak, but Kidou’s voice is calm and low and Kazemaru relaxes. “You know Tatsuya. Do you recognize Inazuma Japan now?” Tatsuya holds his breath, waiting for Kazemaru’s answer. 

Kazemaru shakes his head, and Tatsuya slumps. But then Kazemaru tilts his head slightly.

“Well… a bit, maybe.” He names select members. Only a few - well, Raimon members, that’s obvious. Fudou as well. But Fubuki, he hadn’t expected, and Saginuma. Kazemaru’s eyes widen when he sees Saginuma - the dark-haired goalkeeper notices and smiles uncertainly at Kazemaru - and in Kazemaru’s vision, his eyes are wide and black, and his wide grin is tinged with more than a touch of insanity. His hair spikes up in tufts ( _ and why is he wearing that weird uniform?) _ \- then, it drifts down and goes back to normal, his eyes are normal now too, and his uniform flickers to black and white, there’s a green band on his arm, signifying his status as a captain of an unknown team, and in his thoughts, a voice hisses,  _ Enemy. _


End file.
